Mandela’s legacy for humanity

N
elson Mandela,
the first black president of South Africa and now dead at 95, was the last political giant of the 20th century. In an age which produced too many monsters he was, like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King before him, a reconciler who brought an end to what might have been far bloodier conflicts – in his case, winding up apartheid South Africa.

His influence as a leader and insistence that there be no retribution – combined with the realisation of South Africa’s last white president, F. W. de Klerk, that apartheid privilege was no longer tenable – made sure that there was no violent upheaval when apartheid was finally negotiated away in 1992.

Those involved in human rights abuses were given amnesty provided that they told the whole truth about their actions to the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This open accounting of what had happened helped the country’s non-white population deal with painful memories of repression, while the unforgettable sight of President Mandela in a Springbok jersey at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final reassured whites that reconciliation was a reality.

Mr Mandela’s actions changed more than contemporary history. The masterful handling by a black man of the end of white South Africa personified the final smashing of centuries of warped political ideology based on racial superiority in imperialism, fascism, and then apartheid. It liberated both black and white humanity alike from the weight of such toxic belief.

Mr Mandela may be renowned as a peacemaker but he did not start out that way. Before his arrest in 1962, he was involved in organising violent incidents, such as bombings of military targets and power stations. He had by then come to the conclusion that the African National Congress had no choice but armed resistance.

But when apartheid came to an end, he knew that payback and revenge would destroy the country they had worked so hard to win, and had to be actively expunged from South Africa’s politics. There have been few more appropriate people to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, which he received in 1993.

South Africa under Mr Mandela’s inspiration may have defied the worst prophecies for its future, but it has yet to fulfil all of its promise.

There are still vast inequalities in wealth and unemployment remains high – a shocking 53 per cent among black people under 25. Despite improvements in recent years, economic growth is still sub par and the country remains uncompetitive internationally.

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Part of the problem is that although blood-letting was avoided at the end of apartheid, many white South Africans no longer felt comfortable in the country, particularly as one of the many post-apartheid problems was a very high crime rate. They left in large numbers, taking much needed skills with them. Many of them have come to Australia, where they have made a major contribution to the business community here.

There are many other problems plaguing the government of President
Jacob Zuma
, such as disputes over mining titles, union wage claims including a demand for an increase of 60 per cent by mining unions, and labour disputes that have turned violent. Last year, the police opened fire on hundreds of striking mining workers at the Marikana platinum mine, shooting dead 34. It was an incident that shocked the country and the world, so reminiscent was it of the worst of the apartheid era.

New investment, desperately needed to rejuvenate mining operations that in some cases are more than a century old, is not going to be encouraged by this, or the waves of strikes and wage demands in other sectors of industry.

A serious debate about nationalising the mining industry has not helped, nor has a messy leadership struggle in the ANC and allegations of corruption against President Zuma.

However, those problems are now for later generations to solve. South African and the world should be grateful for the life of Nelson Mandela that has now passed.